The High Road
by Emluvsollie
Summary: When the kids bail out on the Lerner School, some all new adventures start for them! Takes place after The Final Warning, as Max was an epic fail. There's plenty of Fax, and some Eggy, not many new characters, and some flock members even get tattoos. READ
1. Chapters 1 to 19

Chapter 1

I MENTALLY thanked my voice for the first time in my life. It had gotten the Flock and me away from the torture chamber.

Well actually, it was just the Lerner School for Gifted Children.

Nonetheless, we were away from the confinement of a sturdy brick building and were currently flying through the atmosphere. I felt for and western going wind that we could glide on for a little to let our wings rest. We had been flying for at least five hours, and Nudge was beginning to do what she did best.

Which was talking, talking, and more talking. This time, about food.

"I promise that we'll stop soon." I said in an indirect attempt to get her to stop talking for a moment. I looked at the rest of the Flock that was flying close behind me. They all looked a little pained and uneasy, and I guessed they were tired and hungry as well.

Iggy was holding Akila and I could tell his arms were close to giving out. I glared at Total for this. He gave me a nervous half-smile. Thankfully his wings had begun to work, so no one had to carry him.

I procrastinated another minute, waiting for my voice to say something. It rudely did not answer my thanks, and I decided that it was time for the day to end.

"C'mon guys, we'll get some dinner now." I called at the flock, and began to drift downward towards the ground. We were far from Virginia and the school now, somewhere in the Midwest. The land below was shades of brown; I could see no vibrant colors.

We landed near the edge of a rocky bluff, and from there we found a niche where I decided we would build a fire and call it quits.

Fang got the fire going, and I went out and caught some measly desert animals, dive-bombing from 50 feet in the air and grabbing them in my hands. It was an unattractive process, but it had to be done by someone. And that someone was the flock leader, which happened to be me.

Woohoo.

The flock was strangely quiet as we ate our small desert mammals, which had been roasted to utter perfection over the fire. I kept my eyes down, staring at the rock that created the cave where we sat, which must have been millions of years old.

Nudge finished first, throwing the animal's bones into the fire, causing a foul smelling odor to arise from the flames.

The Gasman covered his nose. "That smells worse than I do."

"Eww, the smell of burning marrow." Iggy said, sniffing the air.

I rolled my eyes at the scene of everyone flipping out over the smell, everyone except Fang, who had become invisible for the moment. Standing up, I threw my bones into the fire as well, and then told everyone to do the same.

"We don't need to leave any trash behind that could blow our cover." I said, looking down at the Flock. They all threw their scraps into the fire, and the smell became stronger. I wondered why it smelled so unusually bad.

Within half an hour, the smell was completely gone though, and that was the end of that. The sky was fading, and still everyone was wordless, as was I.

In unspoken agreement, Fang took first watch. I laid down in the cave, listening to the slow breathing of the sleeping Flock. Akila growled lowly in her sleep. I soon drifted off to sleep as well, looking at the empty space where Fang was.

Chapter 2

I AWOKE to the sound of choking. I stood up so quickly that I became dizzy, and sat back down on the cave floor, still looking around to see what the matter was.

I saw Nudge looking at Angel with a concerned expression, as Angel puked over the side of the cave.

"Oh my god! Angel are you okay!" I said, getting up and running over to her. Her pale face was a greenish color.

"Yeah." She said, choking and wiping her mouth. "I think it was the rat we ate before."

I thought about it for a moment and realized that that must have been the culprit. The rat had smelled peculiar…

Suddenly I heard more choking again, and turned around to see Iggy puking as well; only he had missed the side of the cave. It splattered on the rocks.

"Oh my god." I whispered to myself.

Half expecting Gazzy to get up and start puking, I walked over to him and awoke him, moving him away from the puke. He had been asleep next to Iggy.

"Max, what's happening?" said Nudge, looking horrified. "I don't feel so good either."

I looked at Fang, who was telling Iggy what happened. He looked at me at the same moment.

"Are you sick?" I asked him.

"I'm sure I will be." He said, his face straight.

I shook my head with incredulity. This could not be happening. Worst of all, I would be to blame, being that I had caught the food.

Like clockwork, Nudge and the Gasman puked at the same time. I prayed that this was not a life-threatening food poisoning.

I walked to the side of the cave and looked at the horizon, which was dimly lit by the approaching sunrise. I looked in disgust at the puke that was below the cave opening, splattered on the ground.

I felt myself start to gag.

Swallowing hard, I didn't allow it any further, and I marched back into the cave.

For once, I was completely out of ideas. The Flock had never come down with an epidemic quite like this one. Even the dogs were sick. I knew Fang and I were next.

As I started towards Fang, he flung himself out of the cave and into the sky. He was definitely sick to now, only he was going to be sick by himself.

There was something strange. The animals we ate must have been poisoned by something. I looked at Angel and Nudge, who were leaning against the wall of the cave, looking unquestionably sick. Gazzy was throwing up again, his little choking noises making the scene all-the-more worse.

I felt myself start to gag again, and probably would have left then if Fang had been there to keep an eye on everyone.

I barfed over the side of the cave. It was the most disgusting thing.

I'll be nice and not explain it any further.

Later on Fang came back, his face exceptionally pale. The rest of the sick Flock was drifting off to sleep, and he took a seat next to Iggy, leaning his back on the cave wall. After a few minutes I looked back at him and he was invisible.

His new power annoyed me somewhat. He could be watching me right now, and I didn't even know it.

I once again puked, disgusted in more ways than one.

Chapter 3

I WOKE UP later on and looked at the sun, which was dying in the west. We had been resting all day. I felt somewhat better, but the rest of the Flock didn't seem to be quite as good as me.

_Maximum, you need to part this location immediately _my voice chimed in suddenly. I asked it why.

_Those rats were not a normal occurrence. _

I was about to put up a fight that the Flock was tired and that we at least needed to rest for one more night, but this time the voice was actually right. We needed to leave.

I woke up Fang first, who had fallen asleep on watch, not that it mattered or anything.

"We need to go now. Start waking everyone up." I said to him. He nodded with his usual stone straight face.

Iggy and Nudge woke up fairly easily, but Gazzy was only sicker and Angel hadn't quite gotten past the sickness, being that she was so small and it had a greater effect on her body.

No matter. Nudge held on to Angel and Ig held on to Gazzy as we begun flight. I decided to hold Akila for once, all 70 pounds of her. Once we were soaring above the rocks, the Gasman puked again, and I watched in disgust as his puke travelled to the ground and eventually splattered below.

The sun was beginning to set, and we had only begun flying. This would be a problem. I knew everyone was hungry for dinner, but we couldn't risk catching anything out here. We flew northwest for a few hours in the complete darkness, no one making a noise besides the occasional groans from sicknesses, and soon we could see a cluster of bright lights in the distance. I began to descend toward the ground toward the city below.

We were at Salt Lake City, and I could see the Salt Lake and some trees along it, where we landed in the treetops, far away from the humans that could be lingering below.

Gently propping Akila in a web of tree branches near Total, I flew to the other side of the tree near Iggy and Gazzy.  
"How are you feeling?" I asked them quietly.

"B-better." The Gasman stuttered. He was such a good trooper, despite the fact that it was past midnight.

Iggy lifted his eyebrows. "Fine." He said. "Just fine…" he was already drifting off to sleep.

I then crept down a few branches towards Nudge and Angel. Angel had already fallen sleep and was leaning her head on the needled branches of the white pine. Nudge was staring into space. I waved my hand in front of her.

"You awake?" I asked.

She nodded her head slowly. I noticed that her hair was covered in sandstone particles and was in a state of utter disarray. "Yeah." She said, yawning. "I'm tired."

I left her to sleep, satisfied that the flock was almost better. Total and Akila hadn't complained in any doggish whines, so I flew up to Fang, who was sitting on one of the top branches of the tree. He was leaning on the sturdy trunk, arms crossed across his chest. He almost seemed to be scowling.

I sat there for a few minutes, admiring the view of the city while waiting for him to say something. He didn't.

Okay, I guess I had to start this awkward conversation. Fang and I hadn't been normal with each other for what felt like eternity, though in truth it was something like a few weeks.

"Are you okay?" I asked, somewhat reluctant to break the silence.

"Are you?" Fang asked, ignoring my original question. His eyes were so intense that it felt like they were piercing through me. I shifted, feeling exposed.

"Um… yeah." I said, or more like muttered. "Well, I guess that's all then." I said, getting ready to fly back down toward the bottom of the tree."

"Wait." said Fang. I turned around hopefully.

"Yeah?" I said all too eagerly.

"Do you want me to take watch? Or do you want to?" he asked.

My eagerness flushed right down the toilet. "I'll take watch." I said, turning around and not giving him another look as I flew from the top of the tree.

I took a seat on a branch closer to the bottom, in an attempt to get as far from Fang as possible. I needed to clear my mind for a little while. Maybe he and I weren't friends anymore.

I stared into the blackness, crying silently at what should have meant absolutely nothing to me. Too bad it did.

Chapter 4

THE NIGHT WAS DARK, and I strained to see what was happening before me as I fought the flyboys that were bombarding me, pushing me farther and farther away from the Flock. The Gasman and Angel were tied up to the firm branch of a pine tree. Iggy and Nudge attempted to save them, but were soon toppled over by flyboys, pinned to the ground by the wretched creatures.

I struggled to fly above the flyboys, but whenever I tried to spread my wings, they were crushed by the metal that surrounded me at all angles. I couldn't spread my wings. I couldn't fly.

I watched helplessly as Gazzy and Angel were taken away by more flyboys. They just kept coming; there was no way to kill them all.

Iggy was lying on the cold forest floor, breathing heavily but otherwise motionless. Nudge stood above him, looking down with a rather horrified expression. Flyboys came from all angles, sweeping her up and away into the sky after Gazzy and Angel, leaving Iggy on the ground.

Iggy began to get up, and I tried to scream to him, when I found myself being lifted by the Flyboys as well. I was trapped. There was no way out.

I looked below me as I was lifted to the sky, and saw Iggy approach a motionless Fang who was lying in the dirt, covered in scratches and scrapes. He was shaking Fang really hard. Fang wasn't moving.

_Fang is dead._ My voice told me.

I screamed on the top of my lungs.

"Max, stop it!" I heard Fang say to me. "You'll blow our cover."

I opened my eyes and I was in the tree that I had fallen asleep in the night before. It had been a dream.

Not a dream, but a nightmare.

I took in a deep breath and wiped my forehead, which was covered in sweat. My hands were clammy.

Fang was right there in front of me, looking overly-concerned. My heartbeat finally began to slow down somewhat. I fought the urge to give Fang a hug to see if he was really alive. That nightmare had been very convincing.

"Max, that was a really scary dream." Said Angel, who looked just as horrified as I'd felt. She must have been reading my mind while I slept.

"You bet." I answered, finally sober from the wildness of the nightmare. Everyone was crowding around me, and I felt myself turning red. Even Total was looking at me with a worried expression, which was strange to see on a dog.

"I'm fine everyone." I insisted, stretching out my wings. I prayed Angel wouldn't tell anyone about the dream.

"I already did." She said, answering my thoughts. I closed my eyes to escape the awkward stares I was getting from everyone but Iggy.

_Max, you needn't worry yourself over that nightmare. They are not usually connected to reality. _My voice said reassuringly. Maybe it had experienced the torture of the dream too. I hoped it did.

_Not like that was a usual dream._ I snapped back. The voice didn't answer.

I opened my eyes, and still everyone was looking at me. This was going to be a fun day.

Chapter 5

THE ENTIRE MORNING went on slowly; much too slowly for me to handle. Eventually everyone had stopped thinking about my dream and were off to their 'normal routines', but I couldn't stop thinking about it.

We took flight from Salt Lake City after a breakfast of almost-moldy bagels from a dumpster. I had not the slightest clue of where we were going, but I had some ideas.

I was planning on headed north, only because we hadn't been there yet on our "amazing journeys" as some people may call them. Maybe we would get to see some mountains or something cool. Probably not, but those were my intentions

I knew we weren't too far from my Mom's house, but for some reason I didn't feel like stopping in. She was probably still in Virginia anyway, maybe leaving the hotel. It was hard to believe that we had just left Virginia two days ago. It seemed like everything bad that happened to us happened in Virginia.

Not wanting to think of that anymore, I looked into the sky ahead of me. There was nothing but clear blueness all around. Not a cloud was in sight. It was like flying through a clear sea. Below us was the sea floor, dotted with small sea life that inched their way across the grains of sand.

Okay, it was actually a highway with cars on it, but you get the picture.

I was holding Akila again, and my arms were beginning to ache. We had only been flying for a few hours though, and I was not going to admit it.

I wondered why I had agreed to bringing along this dog. Why couldn't Akila just be a little 5 pound Chihuahua or something?

We flew on for another boring hour, and by the sun I could tell that it was at least four hours after noon.

Akila was really getting heavy then. I felt like I was carrying around a 300 pound weight. Her glossy fur only made it harder to grip her. I felt her slowly slipping right out of my fingers.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Fang. He gestured to take Akila from me. I nodded and without a word handed her to him carefully so that she would not drop out of the sky. As Fang took her, I watched the muscles in his arm flex under her weight.

Fang gave me a peculiar look, and I turned my head sharply.

What was I thinking? I scolded myself inside my head.

Later on, we decided to take haven in some trees that beckoned to us from below with their thick branches. It was a small forest in that seemed to be a park, but there was no park building or lights anywhere. I decided we would be safe there.

I started a fire and Fang got the food this time. I hadn't a clue where he was going to get it from.

After I got the fire going, I took a seat on a log that was nearby. I was dreading going to sleep.

What if I had the dream again? I shuddered.

I attempted to distract myself, watching Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel play around by the fire. I sometimes forgot that they were just cute little kids. Angel looked and smiled at me. She must have heard my thoughts. I smiled back.

Iggy was sticking some sticks into the fire with objects like scraps of cloth or leaves on the ends. He was such a pyromaniac. Too bad he couldn't see the brilliant orange of the flame. Those "geniuses" at the school weren't genius enough to give him some amazing eyesight. Some things just weren't meant to be played around with, especially something delicate like eyes.

I heard a loud crackle come from the fire, and Iggy smiled really widely. It was a priceless look, and I covered my mouth to stop from laughing.

"What's so funny?" Fang asked lightly. He had returned from getting the food, which was in a single brown paper bag.

"Did you shoplift at the store?" I asked him, not answering his question.

He cleared his throat. "I found a couple bucks at the bottom of my bag." He explained, moving his hair out of his eyes with one hand and taking out some of the food with his other.

Hotdogs, buns and ketchup were in the bag, along with a liter of soda. We were going to have some party. Seriously, this was a party for us, we "bird kids on the run".

I gave Iggy the job of roasting the hotdogs on the ends of the stick, and he gladly took it. I blanketed each hotdog in ketchup, because we wouldn't be able to carry the bottle with us, and because everyone seemed to love ketchup.

Iggy ate six whole hotdogs, Gazzy a close five, Nudge ate five as well, and the rest of us ate four, including the dogs.

Gazzy farted while I was cleaning up the hotdog and bun wrappers. Gazzy and Iggy then starting hooting with laughter, the only sound besides the crickets chirping in the nearby grasses. Their laughter was contagious, and soon the entire Flock broke out in laughter, even Mr. Rock. We all laughed on for a few minutes.

It had been such an enjoyable night. Everyone was full, and there was no food poisoning involved. As everyone settled down and began to sleep, I started thinking about how we hadn't seen any traces of the school besides Jeb. Worry bubbled inside me when I thought of how Itex could be out there growing as well.

Surprisingly, Fang came and sat next to me on the cold hard ground. I smiled at him slightly, pretending to be absorbed in thought, although my mind was only concentrating on his presence next to me.

"What are you thinking about." He asked me.

"Umm, you know, just Itex and stuff." I replied.

Fang lifted his eyebrows but didn't say anything else. The subject was better untouched. No one felt like worrying at the end of such a great day.

Angel and Gazzy were talking quietly to each other as they lay next to the fire. Otherwise, everyone else was asleep.

"Thanks for getting the hotdogs and such." I said.

"Yeah, it was strange; I have no clue where that money came from." He said. "There were plenty of other times where we could have used some cash."

I didn't answer him. Suddenly I was thinking of the dream again. I would do anything to avoid sleep.

"I'll take watch." I insisted.

"Are you sure?" he asked me.

"Mmm, yeah." I responded.

Unfortunately, Fang knew me all too well. "Max, just so you know, I don't plan on dying any time soon." He told me. I wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"No joke." He said, smiling for the second time that day. I didn't know why I was counting.

I also didn't know why I did this, but I actually hugged Fang right them. Hard. Really hard. He hugged me back. It was a quick hug, but a hug nonetheless.

"I have to check on the blog." He said after, and turned and left.

I went to bed thinking a lot differently than the night before.

Chapter 6

IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING, and Fang was finishing up with checking his blog. He'd had thousands of more hits than he'd expected. It was satisfying to know that someone was looking at his site.

He would need to sleep soon, but he wasn't tired. He sat down and tried to doze off, but that much he couldn't do. His eyelids wouldn't stay shut for more than a few minutes.

The full moon shone brightly above, casting an eerie glow on the dark night. The shadows looked like the claws of huge monsters that were eating him and the flock alive. Strange analogy, he realized with a shudder.

There was a lot of "stuff" for him to think about. Itex, the School, his blog, Max's "Voice"…

Max's voice. Max. He couldn't help but grin smugly to himself. Max had hugged him. It wasn't exactly what he'd wanted, but it was a start.

He sat there in the moonlight, thinking of Max, who was asleep just a few meters away from him.

Feeling energized, he flew to the top a tree and perched upon a branch, his 'inner bird' as he liked to call it, taking over him. He stared at the moon, deep in thought.

He thought of Max mostly, sometimes of Itex, sometimes of the rest of the Flock, but Max was definitely it.

Max. He thought of her name a thousand times in his head. The music of Max's voice, Max's irresistible laughter, Max's piercing screams.

She was screaming. Max was screaming.

Fang scrambled from the top of the tree. She must have been having the dream again.

He took off sloppily, hitting his wing on the end of a branch. _Ouch._

Whatever, he though. He'd dealt with heavier pain before. Within seconds he'd reached the clearing where the Flock slept. Iggy was stirring, but otherwise everyone else was sleeping through Max's horrible shrieks.

Once he reached Max, Fang didn't exactly know how he should wake her. Should he yell? Should he shake her? Should he give her a hug and tell her it was all right?

As tempting as that sounded, he knew he couldn't do it, so instead he shook Max gently and said quietly "Wake up. Max, it's okay."

Max's screams ceased as she opened her blue eyes. She looked at Fang and closed her eyes again in a strange sort of contentment. She breathed in heavily for a few moments.

"You died again." She said, laughing wryly at her dream.

Chapter 7

THERE WAS NOW NO REASON for me to sleep, because now sleep brought complete harm as well. Since when was it harmful to sleep you may wonder? Maybe because I have a nightmare that causes my heart to practically explode its beating so fast. Maybe it's because I start to scream uncontrollably in my sleep.

It's not like I was surprised about anything. I was used to having problems. I am a problem. My life is pretty much one huge problem. Oh well.

I sat near the dying fire in the darkness, staring at the dull embers that floated into the air and back down again. Fang had woken me up about an hour ago.

Of course he was asleep now. Sleep wouldn't hurt him. Sleep had no harmful side effects for anyone besides me.

I continued to feel bad for myself until the first lights of the breaking dawn reached my eyes. I reckoned my eyes were red from lack of sleep.

I stood and stretched my wings, preparing myself for the Flock that would wake up soon. I yawned loudly. I slapped myself in the face to wake myself up. It was refreshing, like pouring freezing cold water over your head.

Iggy woke up first, stretching out his arms and hitting Fang in the face. He was startled awake.

"What the –."

Iggy shrugged carelessly as he sat up. "Sorry." Fang didn't bother giving him a look.

I couldn't stand to look at Fang. I'll admit it, I was embarrassed. Actually, a more appropriate word would be mortified. I saw him looking at me, but pretended I didn't notice.

And so another boring day began. Everyone woke up, yadee yadee yada, we ate some grub, blah blah blah, and you guessed it; we flew on from our little camp.

When we were airborne, Iggy started pulling everyone's hair, screaming out what color it was.

"Brown! Bleach blonde! Sand! Dark brown! More bleach blonde!" He yelled after each person. Gazzy giggled. Angel screamed at him in a high pitched tone. What was I going to do with that kid?

Fang gave me a sideways smile, but I ignored him. I could not smile today.

As we flew, I heard a buzzing noise in the distance, and I swear my heart leaped up my throat. Nudge turned her head and her eyes widened.

"What's that noise? What's that noise? What's that noise?" Iggy asked a million times. No one answered. No one could.

There was a swarm of flyboys in the distance. They were faster than us. They were almost on our tails. We would have to fight.

"Everybody, drop!" I screamed, folding my wings around me like a cocoon. I fell through the sky. I could hear my pulse ring through my ears.

It was a possibility that the flyboys would not have very good motion detectors. Maybe they would skim over us as we fell out of the sky.

About 200 feet before hitting the ground, we all snapped out our wings. I looked up to see some of the Flyboys in the front of the group stop short. The ones behind them smashed into them and sparks flew through the sky. A mini explosion sounded.

"Whoa." Gazzy whispered.

There were still many remaining Flyboys, and they were beginning to descend toward us. They were coming down extremely quickly. Gulp.

Fang was holding Akila.

"Fang, drop the dog." I said quietly, not looking him in the eye.

"No."

I finally looked him in the eye. "You will die! You can't fight while carrying a 70 pound dog as you fly through the sky!" I screamed.

"I'm not going to die." He said sternly.

I couldn't take this any more. "Fang I know what will happen if you die. Bad things right off the bat."

"I'll put the dog down on the ground." He insisted, and began to fly downwards with Akila. Man, dogs could cause problems.

I turned around and there were the Flyboys, right on top of us. Iggy kicked his arms and legs wildly, hitting anything that came in his path.

The Flyboys were stronger this time. I punched one, and it actually hurt me. This was going to be hard.

No, this was going to be impossible.

"Don't punch them!" I screamed out to anyone who was listening. I fought a herd of Flyboys that were attacking me, their robotic arms spread out. I went to smash one's head, but I was stunned.

And electrical charge ran through my body. I pulse skipped a few beats and I must have fallen a few yards down. This was not good. But you probably knew that.

I looked down to warn Fang, who was flying back up toward us, when a Flyboy appeared behind him from who knows where. He kicked its arm with a large whack of his leg, and its arm disconnected from the rest of it, falling to the ground and leaving sparks in the air behind it.

The Flyboy wasn't broken yet, and it grabbed Fang's arm as he threw a punch.

I would have yelled out to him, but both of my arms were grabbed by a Flyboy that had come from behind. I kicked and screamed and thrashed as much as I could, but their iron grip was too much. You couldn't hurt a Flyboy. You had to break it.

It was then that I noticed a solar panel on the back of the Flyboys. That must have been what was supplying them with the seemingly endless energy.

Everyone was pretty much captured by a Flyboy, besides Angel, who was using mind manipulation to control the Flyboys.

"Angel! Solar panel!" I yelled to her. She nodded in comprehension.

Suddenly the Flyboys were hitting each other in the back, crushing the solar panels. They would soon run out of energy. Until then, I still had to fight. I slid out of the grip of the Flyboys and reached Fang.

"Help me free them." I said, gesturing to Nudge, Iggy and Gazzy, who was surprisingly holding his own fairly well, managing to free one of his arms from the Flyboys.

Fang flew ahead of me incredibly fast, and went to smash the Flyboy in the head.

"No!" I screamed, but I was a moment too late. His chest flew out in front of his arms and legs. His wings twitched uncontrollably. I was truly sickened.

He fell down some feet, but then managed to catch himself. I would save my relief for later.

Angel had begun to use her manipulation skills to free the others from the Flyboy's grasps. She did it tastefully, having the Flyboys rip each other's arms out. I laughed a bit, but only for a second. A Flyboy approached me, and put his arm out, taking a swipe at my head. He hit me with the greatest force I had ever felt in my entire life. Stars danced in front of my eyes. Then everything turned red.

The next moment I was falling from the sky, closing my eyes. I was defeated.

Chapter 8

FANG FLEW AS FAST AS HIS WINGS could carry him, a dart through the sky. Max was plummeting toward the hard earth. He needed to catch up to her. He put his arms out in front of him in a V shape to make as little friction as possible.

Max was almost as far down as the trees. He wings were outstretched around her.

Must. Fly. Faster.

He stretched his arms out in front of him.

Must. Fly. Faster.

He closed his eyes. Max was closer.

Must. Fly. Faster.

He opened his eyes. Max was a few feet away.

Must. Fly. Faster.

He used all his energy, pushing the air out of the way, behind his wings.

Max landed in his arms, a fallen angel. He pulled her crumpled body close to him as he flew into the trees. He managed to survive the land, rolling when he hit the ground to lessen the impact of the fall. He was extremely careful not to crush Max any more than she already was.

He stood, Max still lying in his arms like a dead weight, and placed her on the ground. He still wasn't sure if she was alive.

Living in the moment, he leaned his head on her neck, listening and feeling for a pulse. There was none. He changed his position, holding his breath to listen.

There it was. _Thud. Thud. Thud. _

A little faster than a human's, a little slower than a bird's. Just right.

It was then that Fang realized her forehead was gushing blood. He ripped his filthy shirt off and pressed it against her head. Within moments it was drenched with the warm liquid.

She was losing too much blood he realized, propping her head up in his lap. His shorts were covered in her blood, but he didn't care. This moment of his life revolved around Max.

He looked at her face, which was calm with unconsciousness despite the current situation. Her skin was pale and her cheeks were blotchy. Purple circles enveloped her eyes. Sweat covered her forehead.

He smoothed her hair which was also covered in blood. He pressed his shirt down harder, holding up the back of her head against his chest.

Fang was no doctor, but he did what he could in the current situation. He wanted to put Max in a plush bed, lined with silk sheets, maybe rinse the blood from her face and out of her hair, and stitch her wound and rub antiseptic on it.

Instead he was sitting in the dirt and dead leaves with her. Raindrops were beginning to hit his head. Rain could mean many things. It could mean sorrow. It could mean magic. It could mean starting anew.

She showed no sign of waking up. Her eyes moved frantically beneath their lids. He hoped she wasn't having the dream again.

To be honest, the dream had made him uneasy. But he was glad that Max would feel something more than just sadness if he were to die. He had been bluffing; he knew very well that he could die and couldn't control it.

He laid Max as gently as possible in the dirt now that the bleeding had gone down, and he reluctantly left her lying there all alone. He had to go help Angel and the others.

He came up over the canopy of clouds and saw that the rain was destroying the Flyboys. One thing they weren't was waterproof. Gazzy, Ig, and Nudge were all freed and huddled in a group with Angel, watching the last of the Flyboys go up in electrical flames. No one seemed too hurt, although their wrists were definitely bruised. They screamed in bittersweet victory.

Fang felt a hunch of uneasiness then, and flew as quickly as he could to Max. It took him a few moments to find the spot where she was within all of the trees.

To his relief Max was still there, but to his horror, there was also a Flyboy there, approaching her, and he almost had her in his grasp.

Overwhelmed with rage, he flew head-on into the Flyboy's middle, crushing his head against the metal. He tore its arms off. He smashed its head in, living through the unpleasant shock that it caused.

Once the Flyboy was on the ground, its circuits up in flames and cutting short, he flew up above the wretched creature and then stomped on it repeatedly.

He lifted the dead corpse of the Flyboy, its metal frame cold from the rain, and flew above the trees, then hurled it through the sky with all of his might. He watched it fall hundreds of feet away. He was surprised by his own strength and even found himself smiling in satisfaction.

Fang returned quietly as ever to Max. He lifted his blood-soaked shirt from her head, revealing a deep gash. He pressed his hand over it lightly, feeling for a break, an irregularity. There was none.

As he sat there, inspecting Max's bones for any breakage, all of the shock of the moment caught up with him. Just twenty minutes ago, they had thought that they were flying safely through the sky. Life could change all too quickly.

Max seemed well enough that she would live. The rain began to pick up, washing her face, her hair, her unsightly wound.

He leaned in to kiss her, lifting her head softly toward his, but caught himself and placed her back in the dirt. He wasn't shallow enough to kiss her while she wasn't awake to tell him to stop.

He thought back to Max's reaction every time he had kissed her. He remembered when she'd said she loved him. Her grabbing his hand while she was having her chip removed. He knew she hadn't meant it.

It was the unfortunate truth.

Chapter 9

I DREAMED A LOT of different things. I dreamed of death. I dreamed of Sam, my almost boyfriend-kind-of-dude. I dreamed of not having wings…

_I opened my eyes and there I was, in a sterile looking room. Cheap fluorescent lighting covered the ceiling. I had no idea how I got here._

_A man and woman walked into the room. They wore white lab coats and the man held a clip-board. Not the whitecoats. I went to stand up, but something held me down_

_My arms and legs were strapped down to the sides of the bed so that I had to lie on my back. I noticed that there were wires connected to my head. I would have ripped them off of me, but my arms were tied up._

"_Who are you?" I asked, trying to get the two whitecoats uncomfortable so that they would leave._

_The woman cleared her throat. "I am Dr. Martinez, and you have just awoken from a dream." She said calmly. An intern-looking person walked into the room carrying a tray of food that held steaming hot eggs and hot cocoa. She placed it on my lap. Something was definitely not right._

"_What do you mean, a dream?" I asked, looking at the eggs guardedly. _

_The man stepped forward this time. "My name is Jeb. No need to call me doctor. And what my colleague said is most accurate. Max, you are part of the dream program."_

_It sounded like some sort of thing that helped people follow their dreams. I raised my eyebrows in question._

"_What it means is, you have been put under a coma using medicine and our program has put different images inside of your head so that we can see how you will react to different situations." Said the woman. "It is part of a scientific study to see how and why people react the way you do."_

_Dread pumped through my arteries. "How long has this been happening?" I asked, although inside I did not want to hear the answer."_

_The man chuckled without humor. "Your entire life has been a dream, Maxine."_

_Maxine?! What was this moronic stupidity? I tried to move my wings. There were no wings to move. My back was smooth and bare. 2% of me was gone. I froze in horror._

"_What about the Flock?" I asked loudly, my terror ringing in my voice._

"_Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy and Fang are all figments of your imagination." The man explained in an all-too-calm tone. _

_Who was I? I had no wings. Everyone I had every built a relationship with was fake. Angel, Gazzy, Nudge. Iggy and Fang never existed. Everyone I loved wasn't real._

_I was going psycho. I screamed with madness. I felt my brain melt inside my head, turn to Swiss cheese. _

_I hissed at the woman and man. They looked at each other with a sorrowful expression, but I didn't know why. That was until the woman pulled out a long syringe from her coat pocket… _

I startled awake, jumping from where I lay. My heart was about to explode. I looked around the clearing. Everyone was there. Everyone was asleep except Fang. Of course it just _had_ to be him. I sat back down, catching my breath. Fang was looking at me, an eyebrow raised.

My little avian heart was fluttering all around, trying to escape by climbing up my raw esophagus. I gulped a few times to make it stay.

I sat back down, running my hand through my greasy hair. I realized that flakes of dry blood were coming out of my hair.

I realized that my head was throbbing. It was a dull throb, but I could still feel it. My arm was covered in bruises. I fingered a monster scab on my forehead.

Fang still hadn't said anything; I wasn't surprised. He was watching me. I wondered how that could possibly be entertaining to anyone, but his mind was way way way beyond mine, I'm sure.

I went to talk but my voice cracked. Silence followed. I hit myself in the chest to clear my lungs. I coughed a couple times. The last thing I needed was to loose my voice.

When I moved my wings, I felt my muscles twinge. Okay, this wasn't getting any better.

"Am I dead?" I asked stupidly. Fang opened his mouth to respond, but I interrupted him. "Never mind, don't answer that."

"Fine." He retorted. I wondered what his problem was.

Shrugging his random anger off, I stood up once more. My clothes were covered in blood. Yeah, it was pretty gross.

"Did you happen to see any ponds, streams, anyplace that I can wash this gunk out of my hair?" I asked him.

"Mmm, yeah a little ways west." He said, motioning in the direction.

I nodded, grabbed my bag which had some fresh clothes in it, and took off into the sky in the middle of the dark night. My wings hurt, but I didn't care. I couldn't deny my destiny to fly.

A full moon shone, making my search for the river easier. I spotted it within a few minutes. As I landed, I noticed that it was deadly quiet. No crickets chirped. No owls hooted, or whatever noise they make. The only sound was the faint sound of water trickling down the creek. There wasn't even any wind.

I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. I quickly stripped of my clothes (which was uncomfortable yes) and hopped into the stream, wiping the scum, filth, oils, and dried blood from my body. It seemed pretty desperate to actually bathe in a stream like a wild animal, but it was a desperate time. I wouldn't be able to interact with anyone if I was so filthy. It would arouse suspicion.

I climbed into my last clean change of clothes, putting my soiled clothes into my bag so that I could burn them once I got back to the fire.

I planned on asking Fang exactly what had happened once I reached the camp. My mind was beginning to clear, and I remembered that the last thing I had remembered was falling to my death. Just thinking about the Flyboy's incredible blow to my head made me feel anxious and scared. I was surprised that I didn't have brain damage?

Or did I? I decided to leave that question unanswered. It was for the best.

The wind from the flight dried my hair, and when I landed back at the camp I felt refreshed. I took a seat close to the fire. Iggy had woken up now, and was sitting close to Fang on the other side of the fire. I could tell by their silence that they had been talking. Iggy wore an unrecognizable expression on his face.

"What's going on?" I asked peevishly. I was dying to know.

No one answered me. Okay then, a little secret within the Flock, eh? This would be interesting. Actually it would be annoying to the extreme.

I sat there, waiting for someone to say something, but that never happened. It was such a long time that Iggy went back to sleep. Fang was still up, gazing into the fire.

"I really don't appreciate this." I began, glaring at him. "There shouldn't be a secret in the Flock."

Fang gave me cynical look. "You really don't seem to appreciate anything." He pointed out. My mouth hung open. I was appalled.

"How can you say that!?" I screamed at him suddenly. I thought I saw him flinch, but I wasn't sure. "All you ever do is sit there and sulk, muttering a few words here and there!"

I was ready for a fight. Pick a fight with me, and it won't be over until I win.

"At least I don't push people around, Max." he said calmly, although I could feel the anger burning up his voice. "You don't let anyone speak for themselves."

I was pretty sure my face was beet-red by then. "You don't do anything! You don't help anything! All you do is watch from the sidelines! At least I do something productive! You are barely part of this Fl-" I screamed, cutting myself off right before I finished the word 'flock'. I immediately regretted what I had said. I looked down.

"I saved your life. I think that's something worth appreciating." He said quietly. He scowled at the fire.

Oh great job Max. You are really wise beyond your years.

I would have said sorry, but I had a feeling that wouldn't really help. I stood there, staring at Fang, who was staring at the fire.

Was I really that self-centered? Or maybe Fang was being sour with me again, like he had been about Brigid when we were in Antarctica.

"Remember Brigid?" I asked. I really wasn't sure if Fang would answer me.

"Yeah." He said, his voice almost inaudible.

It wouldn't hurt to ask. "Are you mad at me like that? Or like when I, er, you know, _flew off_?"

Fang gave me an unreadable look. "I wasn't exactly mad at you Max. I was just… frustrated. I guess that would be the best word."

"Frustrated with me?"

"With you and with myself." He answered. "I still am, sort of."

This had went from a full out verbal brawl to a confession that I had been waiting for for a while. It was an interesting chain of events.

"Sorry." I said, apologizing for something that I'd done wrong in the last two minutes, which was a lot of things. Fang didn't answer for a few minutes.

"No, it's okay, I'm over it now." He said after a while. I didn't exactly know what that meant. I didn't know what anything meant anymore. I felt my eyes brimming with tears. Man, this was way too incomprehensible.

I tried to say something to get my mind off of this.

"I had a horrible nightmare. Almost as bad as the one that you died in." I told him. "I woke up and was in a hospital room. There were two whitecoats there, and they told me that my whole entire life had been a dream."

Fang's head flew up. "What happened after that?" he asked, suddenly curious.

"I, um, went crazy." I admitted sheepishly. Why was I saying this?

"Did you have wings?" he asked me.

"No…" I said. I was beginning to become suspicious. "What's it to you?" I asked him.

He didn't answer, but stood up, walked over to me, and sat to my right.

"I sometimes have a dream similar to that." He told me. I was shocked in way, somewhat upset that he'd never told, but mostly touched that he would tell me.

"What other secrets do you keep from me?" I asked him.

"Enough." He replied.

I had almost no clue who Fang was. All this time I'd thought I'd know him, but now I was realizing that I didn't know him at all.

"Thanks for saving my life." I told him. Wow, that was strange to say. Sort of fun, too. I wanted him to say something to me.

"I hope that dream isn't true. I hope you actually exist." I said. He half-smiled at me.

"It's the opposite for me. You wouldn't exist for me." He said. I laughed a little, but mostly I was upset.

"I didn't mean what I said before." I told him. I was going all out with this 'confessions' thing.

He was too. "I know. I didn't mean what I'd said either."

We went on for a while, and soon the sky was glowing with the coming horizon. I blinked, delirious with sleep.

I'd like to think that I only did this because I was tired, but I'm not sure how true that statement would be. I leaned my head on Fang's shoulder.

"Remember when I kissed you on the beach not too long ago?" I asked him. I sounded drunk I was so tired, not that I knew what it was like to be drunk or anything.

"Yeah." I heard Fang say. Deep inside my mind I noticed that his shoulder had stiffened, but I was too tired to bother caring.

"I want to do it again." I said. Hey, I was wasted! It was like being on the drugs from the chip-removal all over again.

"Um, Max, are you sure –." Fang began, but I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him. His face was so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my face. He smiled like pine needles.

I breathed in deeply, smelling him. "You smell good." I told him.

He looked pained. "Thanks?" he said in question.

"You're welcome." I answered.

I think we leaned in at the same time, but to be honest, I was too tired to remember. All I know is the Fang was holding my head up to his and our lips were touching.

_There's only one word for this; it's bliss _I thought, thinking about the advertisement for chocolate. But this beat chocolate by a landslide.

A really huge landslide. A landslide a big as the state of California.

We kissed for a while, and that was the last thing I remembered, his warm lips pressing mine. I liked it. I loved it. Fang stroked my hair and my back softly. I closed my eyes in contentment.

Too bad I was so tired that I fell asleep right after, on his shoulder I reckon.

Chapter 10

I opened my eyes, and by then the sun was in the sky. No more than an hour had passed.

I thought for a second. I realized where I was. Fang's arm was still around me. I screamed a high pitched noise that wasn't a word and literally jumped away from Fang. I hung suspended in the air for a few moments, getting myself together mentally. Was Fang awake?

He was awake alright. I watched him look at me, his eyes a complete dead end. We were back at square one as far as I could tell. I had basically ruined everything from last night. You know, the part before I went crazy.

What. The. (Not nice word of your choice). Was. I. Thinking?

"Fang…" I muttered to him at loss for words. It was rare for me to not have anything to say. Not like anything I said would have made this moment less awkward.

Maybe I wasn't thinking. Maybe I had totally lost my mind. At least Angel would be out of my head since there was absolutely nothing in it.

Oh shoot! Angel! What if she read this in my mind? I started to hyperventilate. I wouldn't have minded if we'd just 'ended the night' with a kiss, but me _falling asleep_ on Fang was…

Unbelievable. Wrong on so many levels.

I flew away from the camp.

Class, let's review: What did we learn today?

_Never fall asleep on someone, especially if it has the potential to ruin your young life. _

I felt dirty. I felt like scum. I felt like the blah and blech brothers. We hadn't done anything wrong, but I felt like we had.

I tried to clear my mind, flying into the sunrise in no obvious direction, oblivious to everything besides my thoughts. I could have flown all the way around the world I was so deep in thought.

Flying was only temporary escape. I would be forced to return to the others at one point. My head was pounding, probably from the thoughts and from my injury. I shivered even though it was warm outside.

It wasn't my fault was it? I had a head injury. Fang could have avoided this. Oh yeah, I could really count on him to do that. Not.

But this wasn't his fault, it was my fault. Who had said _"Remember when I kissed you on the beach not too long ago? I want to do it again."_? I was pretty sure that person was me.

My face turned red just thinking about it. What would I say, what could I say, to make this better?

The voice chimed in then, giving me random coordinates. I could have screamed at it on the top of my lungs, but decided to scream at it inside my head. The voice stopped abruptly.

Why was I angry anyway? I know! Because Max has a mental problem! Can I get a cookie for answering that question right? Let me guess – no.

The worst part of this was probably the fact that all chances of Fang and I being normal with each other were gone. They dissolved, dissipated into nothing. All the chances we had were no more.

I had to block these thoughts for the entire day. I was headed back to the camp empty-handed, so I caught some food to make it look like I hadn't flown away because of you-know-what.

It was so typical of me to fly away. I hated being typical.

Everyone was awake when I got back to the camp, which was about an hour later. I avoided eye contact with everyone including the dogs, and sang a song in my head a million times so Angel wouldn't know about what happened.

_We'll carry on, We'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone believe me  
Your memory will carry on  
We'll carry on  
And in my heart I can't contain it  
The anthem won't explain it_

I had no idea what the song meant, but it sounded cool. So I played it in my head a million times over like a broken record. It played through breakfast. It played while I helped Angel and Gazzy get ready to leave. It played when I burned my soiled clothes from last night in the fire. I played when I put the fire out and we all left.

You get the picture. It played a lot.

My voice told me the coordinates again thankfully. At least I had a game plan for today despite that everything else in my life was falling apart or had already fallen apart.

Fang ignored me. I ignored him. It was almost like any other day, only we didn't talk at all to anyone else. I was used to avoiding just him. I knew he was busy blocking his thoughts like I was, probably thinking of a song too.

If Angel found out about this, I would surely die. I willed my position of Flock leadership to Fang if I were to die. It would be easy to run a Flock that I wasn't a part of. I basically caused all the problems.

Every time I took a quick glance at him, my gut felt like it would come up my throat. I had no clue what this meant.

Maybe I would expire soon? That was a thought. Then I could leave behind this torture. I was thinking the vainest of thoughts.

Maybe I could get attacked by a Flyboy and actually die this time. I was supposed to be dead. This could be punishment for going against Mother Nature. If Fang hadn't saved me this wouldn't even be happening right now…

Oh yeah, I was supposed to be thinking of the song. The rest of the day was boring and thoughtless because of this. La de da de da.

We landed earlier than usual this time. Nudge ever so sweetly insisted that we did so because my wings were hurt or some nonsense. Whatever. I agreed. I could not wait for this day to end.

My head was hurting again, but the scab on my forehead was significantly smaller because we're all special mutants and what not.

I knew it would leave a scar, and the thought annoyed me. It would always have to remind of the day before I screwed up my life to a complete stand-still. Today was that day.

This would stay a case of the sour grapes forever, I was sure. Really sour grapes. Genetically enhanced grapes that were so sour they made your mouth itch and burn with acidic juices. I wouldn't want to drink juice made from those sour grapes.

Chapter 11

Fang was mad. Fang was mad.

Did we mention that he was mad? Oh yeah, we did.

Once again, things had gone wrong. Once again, Max was acting… _unstable_. That wasn't the best word, but there really wasn't a good word for any of this.

This situation was mostly his fault, and he knew it. He'd known that Max wasn't in her right mind.

He'd thought it was a good thing, but it wasn't. Apparently he didn't know much. What would he know about these things anyway? He'd grown up in a crate, then in a house in the mountains that was cut off from civilization.

It was dark out now, and everyone was sleeping except for him. He didn't want to avoid Max, but he ultimately had to. He'd probably make the situation worse if he tried to talk to her.

He'd ignored her all day. He looked at her every now and then, but that was it.

Everyone was too caught up in their own feelings, he decided. They could fly. They could do anything they wanted. They had the power to control their lives. Not many kids had that. But Max didn't think that way. She took everything and blew it up until it was out of proportion. She made everything more than it was.

This didn't even really have to be a problem. Forgive and forget. They could forgive and not forget too, if they wanted. He liked that option better.

He remembered when he wanted to just hide away somewhere and escape everything. He knew everyone would be happier that way. He thought it was a realistic option, but Max hadn't agreed. It was all about the mission with her. He guessed there was no changing a person like that.

He was really mad as the situation as a whole, but not at Max in particular. He knew exactly what her problem was. She was obviously embarrassed.

Not like he cared about what she'd done. He was willing to pretend it had never happened if that was how she wanted it. That was definitely how he wanted it.

But it didn't usually matter what he wanted, did it?

Max was in panic mode, but he was in shut-it mode. He wasn't going to say anything or do anything. He was going to do what he did best, which was put up or shut up.

He prayed to God or whoever was up there that Max would not have her little dream again. He wasn't up to it. He didn't even know if he would bother waking her up if she started to scream. She wouldn't want him to.

He'd wake up Iggy and tell him to do it. Until then, he thought about everything over and over. Maybe he should talk to her…

No. But it might help…

No. No, no, no.

He couldn't decide. He could have spent the rest of his life deciding what to do.

There was one missing piece of information that could have helped him out. Did she really mean what she'd said?

He wasn't sure. If she didn't, then he'd take consent to not saying anything. But if she did mean it…

He shrugged the thought away. That would be too good, wouldn't it?

Fang chucked some sticks into the fire that was beginning to die. They crackled and sparks spit up in the smoke. The orange flames glowed and licked the edges of a bush.

The tree was alive and the forest was moist from the recent rain, so he doubted it would set on fire. Fang stared at the fire. Fire was a pretty important thing to him and the Flock. Without it, they'd probably be dead right now.

He closed his eyes, for he was beginning to tire. He didn't want to wake Max up for watch though. They weren't quite ready to talk to each other.

Suddenly, the air smelled like fire.

_Oh shit._ He thought. Shit was a necessary word. A nearby bush was going up in flames. Fang grabbed a jug of water and dumped it on the bush. The fire ceased for a few moments, then went up again, only bigger.

A wind blew and the fire touched more trees, which abruptly went up in huge flames. Why had the fire suddenly become so strong from a couple of twigs?

Fang looked up to see a herd of Flyboys hovering over the camp. They must have done something to the fire, maybe they dropped in some ultra flammable substance. When were these Flyboys going to give up?

Chapter 12

"Max! Wake up!" I heard Fang's voice say.

I opened my eyes and then shut them. They were burning from the smoke that enveloped me. I realized I was choking. Everywhere I looked it was orange.

The air smelled like burning wood. Then I realized what was going on. There was a forest fire. I began to crawl across the forest floor, waking up Nudge, who was the only one left that was still asleep. Everyone else was either crawling or flying away from the fire. Akila ran into the woods. I could see the silhouettes of forest animals darting to and fro, in any direction that would get them away from the fire. Birds flew in the air, escaping the fire that was destroying their homes. I gulped.

Now was not the time to worry about the innocent animals, as much as the deer reminded me of sweet innocent Bambii.

I flew into the smoke, totally loosing my sense of direction. It was like drowning in a sea of gray. Which way is up? I don't know. Which way is down? I don't know. All I did was go the way that gravity didn't want me to.

I made it above the trees and looked down at the fire. I covered at least an acre of the trees. Iggy, Fang, and Nudge along with Total were nearby. I didn't see Gazzy or Angel anywhere.

Oh my God. Where were they?

I went back toward the flames, not caring that my own life was on the line. Behind me I heard the crashing of metal. It couldn't be Flyboys, could it?

Wrong. I turned to take a peek and I saw Flyboys approaching the half of the Flock that was hovering in the sky. We would need Angel if we ever had a chance to defeat them.

I flew into the smoke, putting my arms out in front of me so I could feel Gazzy or Angel. I couldn't see a thing even with my raptor vision. A couple of my feathers caught on fire when I went past the bodies of flames.

"Oof!" I exclaimed, crashing into somebody.

"Angel?! Gazzy?!" I screamed out. "Is that you?!"

I heard small choking. "Yeah." Said Gazzy. He was alive. _Thank you God._

I found Gazzy's arm and dragged him upwards until we were above the smoke. There was more smoke than before in the sky. I went to the others with Gazzy, who was coughing uncontrollably.

Angel was there now, and I could see by the look on her face that she was trying hard to get inside of the Flyboy's minds. This time they weren't reacting.

I have to say, I was scared. I didn't want to be knocked out again, because this time if I fell my body would be burned to ashes in the flames below.

"Away from the fire!" I screamed, flying away from the fire and the Flyboys. They would be easier to fight if there wasn't fire and smoke messing up our vision.

I darted into the trees once I'd reached about a mile. I looked around as the Flock caught up to me. This place looked strangely familiar…

Out of the blue, a bunch of Flyboys smashed into me at all angles. I tried to fly away from them, but I was wedged tightly between them. I couldn't move.

I felt like I was having déjà vu…

I strained to see ahead of me, and to my horror, Angel and Gazzy were all alone fighting the Flyboys in midair. Where was everyone else?

I saw Nudge and Iggy, crouching behind a bush. The fire was coming near us now. It was spreading. They flew up to aid Gazzy and Angel, but the two siblings were already in the grasps of the Flyboys.

I fought harder and managed to free myself from the Flyboys. I flew upwards, but more Flyboys grabbed onto my legs. I fell backward, smashing into a sea of metal.

Angel and Gazzy were lifted away and into the sky as more Flyboys surrounded Nudge and Iggy. They just kept coming.

I was being lifted up by the Flyboys, in the same direction as Angel and Gazzy.

I looked below me. Nudge was captured too. Iggy was shaking Fang, who was lying motionless on the ground.

My nightmare. This was my nightmare.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the voice to say the three words that I dreaded most.

_One, two, three_ I counted down in my head. The words didn't come.

I opened my eyes. Flyboys blocked my view of Iggy and Fang. I didn't know what was going on.

The Flyboy that was holding me suddenly released his grip and fell to the ground. There was no sun in the sky. They needed solar power to run. Maybe we had a chance.

Angel and Gazzy we free too. They flew to me, punching the Flyboys that were in their way. Aren't they just precious?

"Take cover!" I yelled to them. They disappeared into the trees.

I pushed ahead towards Iggy and Fang, but I could not prevail. There were too many Flyboys for me to pass. I ripped their arms off. I tore them up as much as I could, but they were too strong. I flew away from them towards the others, trying to think of a plan.

It was then that the explosion sounded. I turned around and there was a mushroom cloud 25 feet in front of me. Pieces of Flyboys flew through the air. A Flyboy hand hit me in the head. I caught it. Maybe it would help us with something.

Putting the mechanical hand in my pocket, I flew into the mushroom cloud. The Flyboys had set off a bomb. For all I knew, Iggy and Fang were dead too. I gulped hard. I couldn't stand to think of that. My eyes watered from the smoke that burned them and because I was so scared.

I could see that most of the Flyboys were dead as the smoke lifted into the sky. I had to find Iggy and Fang. We needed to leave now, if they were alive. The minute any government got involved in this, we were toast.

The forest fire raged on, and it was coming closer. I picked up pieces of Flyboys as I flew parallel to the ground, looking for Fang and Iggy in the jumble.

I targeted the area that was covered in the most ashes, the most likely spot that the bomb had went off at. I lifted the charred metal of dead Flyboys and crushed the Flyboys that weren't fully destroyed.

I couldn't find them. Each time I lifted a dead Flyboy, they weren't underneath it. The fire was creeping closer. I hoped that Angel, Gazzy and Nudge were far away from its deadly flames. Each time I looked behind me the fire was closer, burning up the woods that I had just left. Soon it would be too late to look for them.

My sight was blurred with the wetness in my eyes. I could not believe this was happening. This was worse than my dream.

Suddenly I saw two silhouettes in the distance. They had wings. Could it be them?

"Iggy?! Fang?!" I screamed out to the shadows. The only answer was the crackling of the fire. My heart raced. It had to be them. They couldn't be dead.

I screamed their names again as I flew as fast as I could through the smoke towards the shapes. I hit a few trees along the way. A thorn bush scratched up my right leg. Oh well. I raced as fast as my wings could carry me towards my only hope that they were alive.

The smoke cleared in front of me and there they were; Fang and Iggy. My heart stopped I was so relieved.

I flew into them hugging them both.

"You're alive." I said. "I thought the Flyboys had bombed you. I thought you two blew up." I told them. I sighed a few times in relief.

Iggy actual laughed at me. "I set off that monster." He told me, referring to the bomb.

We were interrupted by the fire. It was literally a few feet away.

"Fly!" I exclaimed, jumping into the sky.

Chapter 13

"OH MY GOODNESS, MAX!" said my mom, running over to hug me in the front yard after the Flock and I landed. It was good to be home.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay! What have you been up to?" she asked while she hugged me. This was not news to me. The fire still hadn't died a day later. No one could get it to stop burning more and more forest.

I shifted uneasily after she let go of me and went to hug the little kids. This was going to be awkward to explain.

"Um, well, there's a bit of a problem." I told her after she was finished greeting everyone. Her face whitened. She was expecting the worst.

"It has nothing to do with the school or Itex." I assured her.

"Well, what is it?" she asked me, when Ella ran out of the house, the door slamming noisily behind her.

"Max!" She cried, hugging me. I hugged her, my sister. I still couldn't get over the fact that I had a sister.

"It's so good to see you." I said, an uncontrollable grin spreading across my face. Some things were just too good to be true, like happening upon your biological mother and sister randomly once fine day when there was the whole world to search for them in.

I cleared my throat, clearing my mind of my small distraction. I looked at Fang to procrastinate as long as possible. I pretended to be thinking about what to say although I knew exactly what I was going to say.

"Has there been news of a, well, _forest fire_? Maybe on television or something?" I asked my mom slowly.

She lifted her eyebrows in question, and then her expression changed.

"No don't tell me that –." she began.

"It was our fire that the Flyboys, um, _enhanced_." I interrupted, looking for the right word to explain exactly what had happened.

Ella's eyes widened. "That fire still hasn't been put out yet!" she exclaimed, in a mix of shock and horror. Maybe she showed some fascination as well.

I knew it was true. The fire still raged on as we spoke, destroying forest and wildlife as it moved on and grew. I gulped.

"The fire departments from all surrounding cities are kicking in to put the fire out you know. The National Guard has even gotten evolved." Ella told me. "Every new channel is covering the story."

Well, wasn't this just fabulous? There were probably plenty of detectives there too, trying to figure out the source of the fire, what had started it. I really had been hoping to just lay low for a bit, sort of disappear from the face of the earth. Now I and the Flock would probably be blamed for burning down half of the state of Arizona.

"Well, on that unhappy note," my mom said suddenly "I'm so glad you kids came. There's a vanilla cake in the oven right now." She said, smiling.

"Cake?! Yay!" Gazzy exclaimed loudly from behind me. Angel giggled in juvenile excitement.

"Cake sounds great." I said. "But what's it for?"

Ella smiled at me. "It's my birthday Max. I turned thirteen today."

Chapter 14

I FELT LIKE SUCH A great sister, forgetting Ella's birthday. That was just the tip of the ol' iceberg for me. I officially named myself an inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerk.

No matter. I had to be happy today. It was my sister's birthday, and I at least owed her a good mood.

I watched and smiled as we ate a birthday dinner, as Ella blew out the candles, as she opened presents, and as she smiled at Iggy a lot for some reason, although he couldn't really notice.

Not that I was the sharpest knife in the drawer or anything, but I did notice some things.

Anyway, it was pretty good to be there for her birthday. My first classic birthday. I never thought I'd see the day.

I slept of Ella's bedroom floor that night, and we talked about randomness.

"Hey, Max, want to do something fun?" she asked me as I was about to fall asleep.

"Mmm, sure." I muttered.

Ella turned on the light. "I'll me right back." She said, tiptoeing out of the room. I wondered what she was up to.

It didn't take too long to find out. She returned with two bags of ice and a sewing pin. Oh God, save me.

"Ella, please do make me do this." I practically pleaded as she handed me the ice.

"It'll be fine." She insisted with a wide grin. "Sit on my chair and press the ice to your ear lobes for a few minutes to numb them."

Ella took two small earrings from her jewelry box.

"Do you like these ones?" she asked. I looked at the pale blue gems and nodded.

"Sure…"

I can do this, I told myself. I had my share of near death experiences. What was a needle going through my ear?

I sat in silence as my ears began to numb up. Soon ten minutes had passed.

"I think they're ready." Ella said. "Do they feel numb?"

"I can't feel them at all." I told her. "Don't mess this up." I said, half joking.

She smiled at me as she lifted the needle to my ear. "I've done this before. Don't worry."

The sharp object impaled my ear right through the skin. I winced. Ella put the earring in immediately after.

Before I could beg her not to do the other side, the needle went through my other ear. A dull throbbing began. This side hurt more.

"Ouch." I muttered.

Ella examined me, admiring her work. "There, they look perfect on you. The blue really brings out your eyes." She told me.

I stood up from the chair and looked in the mirror. My ears were all red, but there were little gemstones stuck in them. It looked unnatural.

"I love it." I half lied.

Ella gave me an impish grin. "Max, you look so good. Fang is not going to be able to stop looking at you tomorrow."

I turned my head sharply. "What?" I asked.

Ella sensed that she'd said something wrong. Oh, believe me, she had.

"I, uh, think Fang likes you." She said.

As if I hadn't known that. I actually hadn't known that.

"Really?" I asked.

She nodded. "Oh yes. I've read all the magazines, and believe me; he likes you."

I suppressed the urge to smile. This was good, wasn't it?

"Thanks Ella." I said about the earrings, this time sincerely. "I really do love them."

Ella was beaming with happiness. "So, do you like Fang?" she asked. She really wanted to know.

Oh, God. There was a lot I could have said right there. But I knew better. Anyone could be eavesdropping on this conversation.

"I don't know." I said as convincingly as I could. It was a total lie.

Chapter 15

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT, folks. I finally admitted it to myself.

Why did I love my new earrings? You know why. Because of what Ella had said.

The next morning was strange. Ella and I woke up at noon. I got ready as quickly as I could.

Downstairs, Gazzy and Angel were playing with some of Ella's old toys. Nudge was watching the tube.

"Where are Fang and Iggy?" I asked them.

"They went out." Nudge told me. Strangeness.

"Where did they go?" I asked her.

"I don't know." Nudge told me.

"You'd better not be lying." I threatened.

I looked at Ella, who was standing next to me. She looked concerned too. I was about to say something when my mom came in.

"Have some brunch, girls." She said, escorting us into the kitchen where two steaming hot plates of pancakes and bacon waited. I shoved them down my throat, while Ella ate pleasantly next to me.

"You pierced her ears?!" my mom exclaimed suddenly at Ella.

Ella looked up nervously. "Yeah…"

My mom smiled. "It looks cute. I hope you washed the needle first." She said to Ella. "We don't want Max to get an infection."

"I washed it." Ella said.

No one said anything after that, which was fine because I wouldn't be contributing to the conversation much. I was really just wondering where Fang was.

"Hey mom, where did Iggy and Fang go?" Ella asked.

Mom raised her eyebrows. "I'm not sure honey, but they'll probably be back soon. They left a few hours ago."

_Great._ I thought

"Oh. My. Freaking. God."

I knew my mouth was hanging open, welcoming in flies that were buzzing around. But I couldn't even believe it.

Fang and Iggy's backs where facing Ella and me. I stared at their bare backs.

Bare besides that fact they had matching tattoos on them.

It was a picture of a bald eagle. Fang's seemed to be looking at Iggy's like a mirror image. Thorny bramble surrounded each eagle. They did look cool, but it was ridiculous.

"Why?" I asked as they put their shirts back on. Iggy shook his hair, which was a complete mess.

I was so mad. Words cannot even explain how mad I was.

"Where'd you get it done?" I asked. What place would allow two 14 year olds to get tattoos with any adult permission? And how had they hidden their wings?

"A tattoo parlor a few towns over." Fang told me. "Don't worry, they didn't see our wings."

"Did it hurt?" Ella asked in disbelief.

Iggy smiled. "A little. But what's a little pain?"

Give me a break. I felt my face redden.

I glared at Fang, forgetting everything from last night. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked him sourly.

"Because I just didn't." he retorted, just as sour.

"And it's really real? It's never going to wash off?" I asked him.

"Yep." That was his response.

I grabbed Ella's arm. "Let's go." I said, heading into the other room. If I'd stayed any longer I probably would have punched Fang in the jaw. How could he and Iggy get a tattoo without at least telling me first?

Fang and Iggy followed us into the room.

"Get away from me." I threatened quietly to both of them.

Fang looked at me. "We need to talk." Oh yes, we definitely did. The question was would I be able to do that without killing him?

"No." I said.

He gave me a horrible glare. In the corner of my eye I saw Ella leave. "Max. I swear that if you don't let me talk I will leave and not come back."

I rolled my eyes. I knew he was bluffing. "Give me a break."

"Give _me_ a break, Max!" Fang exclaimed suddenly. I ignored him and stormed out of the house. The little kids were probably listening. We had to take this outside.

Once we were outside, I continued glaring at him. "Well, explain." I said to him.

Iggy was there too. How nice, an audience.

"I think that maybe everyone in the Flock should get a tattoo done, just in case we are ever split up."

I couldn't help but laugh humorlessly. "So you want Angel and Gazzy to get tattoos?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Not now, but maybe when their older."

Wasn't that a pretty picture, six juvenile kids with wings flying around in the sky, their tattoos showing as their shirts blew in the breeze.

I was about to punch Fang in the jaw. My hand balled up into a fist at my side. "If you think that I am going to get a tattoo, you are utterly mistaken." I told him.

"Remember Max II? If you had that tattoo, it would be a lot easier to point her out." He told me.

I hesitated for a moment. He might have actually been right. A tattoo could be useful…

"Okay, it might be an okay idea." I admitted. Fang smirked smugly.

"But I really don't want to get a tattoo." I said.

"Well, the sooner the better." Iggy chimed in.

Fang looked at me, his expression softening. "It doesn't hurt that bad. We've all dealt with greater pain."

I contemplated for a moment. "Fine." I said giving in.

"It won't hurt much. I promise." He said to me.

I smiled stupidly. _I trust you_.

Chapter 16

ELLA SLAPPED THE MAGAZINE onto the table in front of me. She tapped it violently with her pointer finger.

"Max. You need to beautify yourself." she said in all seriousness.

And me, I seriously felt like I was going to throw up. No joke. I would not live through another sleepover night with Ella. I braced myself for the horrific happenings to come.

"Ella, I am begging you, please don't make me do this." I said, trying to pull a puppy-dog eye trick that Nudge always used on me.

I suppose I didn't do a very good job of it. "No." she answered, "We must do this. Not for your happiness, but for my satisfaction. I've just been itching to bring out those baby blue eyes and full lips."

_Full lips_?! Where in the name of macaroni was I, A freaking mental hospital?

I looked at the magazine, and immediately I wanted to burn it in a bonfire, with everyone I knew crowded around it chanting some Native American Voodoo magic thing. All it said was "special makeup edition" in red letters across the cover, and there was a picture of a random girl who looked like a wax figure behind it.

I closed my eyes. Nothing happened.

"Do it." I said. "Start before I fly out the window."

Ella giggled. "You make it like this is some kind of torture."

"It is." I replied.

She giggled again. "You're so funny."

Not like I was trying to be funny or anything, but this really was torture for me.

A brush touched my face and swept across my forehead and cheeks. I felt a sneeze coming on.

Keeping my eyes shut, something touched my eyelid. "Don't move." Ella warned.

I'm not going to bother describing this any further. I just have two words to explain getting makeup applied against your will: slightly torturous.

I looked at myself in the mirror and barely managed to keep in my scream. I looked … like plastic, besides the scar on the left of my forehead.

"It looks pretty good." I lied. I didn't want to tell Ella the truth

"I told you it would look good." she told me, a genuine smile on her face. At least one good thing had come out of this.

"Why did you do this to me before I'm going to sleep?" I asked her.

"Because their won't be any time in the morning." She told me. She looked as sad as I was.

"I really wish I could stay Ella. But I have the mission and well… I'm so used to being free."

She sighed. "We'll see each other soon; I know it."

I gave her a classic Max bear hug, the ones that I gave Angel when she was sad.

"I'll miss you." I said. I dared not allow any tears escape my eyes.

"I'll miss you too."

I went to sleep after that. Tomorrow morning would be hard.

I prayed that the makeup would wipe off in my sleep.

Chapter 17

THE MAKEUP WAS STILL THERE when I woke up in the morning. But what was one more burden in my elephant-load of burdens that was so heavy my spine was about to snap in half? I guess the makeup was heavy duty.

I tried to hide inside of a black hoodie, zipping it up to my face. I let my hair cover my face as I went downstairs to face the Flock. I got a lot of weird stares from Gazzy

"You look pretty Max." said Nudge angelically.

Thankfully Iggy didn't see anything and Angel was just an oblivious little girl.

Fang didn't seem to notice either. Maybe he was pretending for my sake.

Mom gave me a smile. I smiled back as I scarffed down the eggs and sausage on my plate.

There was a faint blue glow coming in the windows. The clock read six o'clock. It was about time to go.

I hate to ruin the sadness of departure from my family, but I was really looking forward to being in flight again. My wings just had to be free. I needed to stretch them out really badly.

Iggy seemed extra down-in-the-dumps about leaving. I sensed something un-Iggy going on with him. He wasn't pulling his usual jokes with Gazzy. He played with the eggs on his plate, mashing them with his fork.

Ella whispered something in Iggy's ear. He smiled.

I made a mental note of this in my mind for later reference.

Once we made it onto the front lawn, it was time for the dreaded goodbyes. My mom looked sad as she hugged everyone, except Fang and Iggy who she shook hands with.

"Come to visit soon, okay?" she asked as she hugged me.

I was choking up. "Yeah." I promised.

Ella gave Angel and Gazzy a hug at the same time, then said bye to Nudge as well; shook hands with Fang (slightly awkward moment), then a huge shocker – she gave Iggy a quick hug.

It wasn't Ella hugging Iggy that was a shocker to me, it was the fact that Iggy seemed to be hugging her back. I scribbled down mental note number two in my head.

I gave Ella a hug last. I was really going to miss my sister.

"Thanks for coming for my birthday." She said.

"It was all by chance." I assured her, trying to smile.

"I'll keep an eye on the fire for you. Come back if things get ugly." my Mom told me.

I nodded. "I will."

Then was the moment that I'd been anticipating all morning. I took a small running start, covering half of the lawn, and then I leaped into the air. I snapped my wings out and raced into the sky. I smiled and screamed in joy. Some things just never get old.

Fang took off a few steps behind me. I think he was smiling slightly too, but I could never be sure with him.

And with that we were airborne, Ella and Mom waving at us from below.

Ah, the sweet taste of freedom.

Chapter 18

"YO."

I turned and looked at Fang, who had randomly started to talk to me. I gave him a look.

"Hey." I said, shaking my head and looking far below me to the ground.

Fang cleared his throat. "Are you going to get the tattoo soon?" he asked me. Now I could see what he was getting at.

"Uh, yeah anytime." I said. I'll admit that I was reluctant.

He changed the subject. Maybe I didn't know where he was getting at.

"Ella put makeup on you." He said with a smile. As if I didn't know that. I closed my eyes and growled at nothing.

"Do you think it looks nice?" I asked him sarcastically, not knowing if he had been complementing me or not.

He shrugged. "It looks alright. You look better without makeup though."

Hm, wasn't that interesting. "Thanks." I said quietly. My heart started to pound. Why was he being nice to me? I didn't deserve this.

His expression started to change into something different. It was a look that I had never seen on him before. I flew off from him, several yards into the distance.

What was going on? I was freaking out on the inside.

I didn't have much time to think about it, because he flew up from behind me. I prayed he wouldn't pull anything strange in front of the Flock.

"We really should talk about the thing." He said, referring to that night a mere few days ago. This was the moment I had been dreading.

"Yeah." I agreed anyway. It was inevitable.

Being that we were both pretty private people, this was not going to be easy. We flew farther ahead of the Flock, avoiding the possibility of eavesdropping.

"I don't know what you were thinking when you did what you did Max, but I have to know. So just tell me." said Fang, a little too intensely for my liking. He seemed to be in pain.

I couldn't say this. I was hopeless when it came to this kind of chatting. Everyone who knew me knew that! Why was he putting me through this misery?

"Fang, I really don't know anything anymore. Is that enough for you to take?" I asked him.

"Max, you have to know what you yourself are thinking." He told me, making perfect sense.

_Stop making sense all the time!_ I wanted to scream.

But of course I didn't. I shrugged at him. "That's necessarily true. I'm full of problems." I said half-jokingly.

"You don't have problems." He said.

Oh jeeze, what was he trying to do? I was trying to be sarcastic to lighten the mood, but it was not working.

"I am a problem." I said, hoping that he would stop acting so… amazing.

Man, he was amazing, was he not? I felt like the thought just dawned on me right then and there. I had been blind for so long.

Fang gave me a look of understanding.

"I'll be honest." I said suddenly, saying something that I thought I was beyond capable of saying. "I did enjoy it."

I wanted to smack myself in the head for saying it as soon as the words came into my mouth.

"I'm cool with it Max." he said strongly. I could not believe this. Was this happening? Was I in a dream?

Nope I sure wasn't. Fang said something but I didn't pay attention to what it was, I just stared at his mouth moving.

Something was wrong with me. Something was right with me.

He was so perfect, my best friend and more than my friend. I wanted to tell him, but I didn't. I wanted to tell him I loved him.

Fang smiled at me and my world brightened. "Thanks." He said, and I had no clue why.

Chapter 19

I was so glad the awkward chat between Fang and I was over and that we could just forget about that night. Fang and I were friends again. I knew that this wouldn't last, but whatever. At least I could enjoy this for a little while.

We were flying to California for no good reason. I just felt like going to a sunny place. Maybe it would make my life sunnier. Okay, probably not.

I looked at Fang and he looked at me, smiling slightly. I smiled back.

I sighed quietly. I wanted to get there faster.

I had never really seen much of California, and since it was such a pointless place for us to be, it seemed as though it would be the perfect place to confuse whoever it was that wanted us dead.

I shuddered at the thought. I definitely did not want to think about this right now, just when things were starting to get good for me.

Just then Angel flew at my side.

"Max!" she shrieked. "Something is wrong with Iggy! His thoughts are going extremely fast, and he's turning red! He needs help!"

Oh my God. I turned around, Fang already flying fast a bullet toward Iggy. He was falling through the sky.

I caught up to Fang. "What's wrong with him?!" I screamed in terror, catching Iggy's feet as Fang caught his arms. Fang gave me a nervous shrug and looked.

Oh my God. Was he having a heart attack?

"Iggy!" I yelled at him. "It's going to be okay." I said, feeling tears come to my eyes.

Fang and I brought Ig to the ground, placing his gently in the middle of a grassy field.

The rest of the Flock was close behind, watching with wide eyes. I felt horrible for Iggy.

Iggy mustered a few 'ouches' and his teeth clenched together, his sightless eyes spinning. I decided to give him some space.

"Iggy, it's going to be okay" I said again, trying to reassure him. He couldn't answer me.

I watched in horror as his eyes began to close, and his dreadful convulsions began to stop. Within a few minutes he was motionless.

I bit my lip so hard that it started bleeding. I licked the blood from my lips, trying to keep the tears inside my eyes. I had to be strong.

I watched in terror as Fang put his hand to Iggy's chest. He felt for a few moments his face showing nothing.

"His heart is beating." He told me solemnly.

I hugged Fang suddenly, really tightly. I will even admit that I was scared. I shuddered a few times in his arms, then let go. I turned to Iggy, gently brushing the hair from his sweat covered forehead.

"What should we do for him?" I asked unsurely, putting my ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Was it a heart attack or not?

"I don't think it was a heart attack." said Fang.

"Neither do I." I agreed.


	2. Chapter 20 only

Chapter 20

We brought Iggy to a small mossy clearing in the woods and watched him sleep for a long time. The seizure-like occurrence seemed to tire him out a lot.

I really just wanted him to wake up, so that I would know that he was not in a coma and what had happened to him

Gazzy and Angel were huddling together by the fire that Fang had just started. We were high in the mountains, somewhere in Nevada, and the air was crisp, but not cold. I breathed it in. It tasted amazing. I wished I could bottle up the air and take it with me.

Fang came over and sat next to me, rather closely, I must add.

"I'm scared," he said.

"Moi aussi," I replied sadly.

"Max, I just want you to know that, well, if you ever leave or die, the flock wouldn't be as great without you." Said Fang. "I know this seems sort of random, but the thing with Iggy puts life into perspective."

Okay let me guess, all you girls reading this are like "awwwwww" and on the verge of tears. Well, I was that way too when he said it to me. Just to let you know. But you all know that I hate showing weakness. So I didn't. Not even for him.

He put his hand on mine as he smiled at me. I put my head on his shoulder. We move closer together. I wondered why I had always avoided him in this way. What was the worst that could happen? As long as I had faith that we would always be friend (or maybe more), there was no chance being taken.

"Fang, you're the best." I said quietly.

"The best what?" he asked.

I thought about the question for a minute. "The best person, or almost-person, on this planet. For me anyway."

"In what way?"

Wow, he really wanted to move fast, didn't this wonderful boy?

"I guess in the way that you keep me sane. I would have gone crazy long ago without you to keep me thinking about things."

Oh shoot, I thought. I'd revealed something a little too big right there.

"You think about me?" he asked, sounding shocked yet touched.

"I think about everybody," I said, trying to disguise my statement and sound smart. But it didn't work.

"Do you think about me more than normal?" he asked, being too specific for his statement to be misinterpreted.

"Yeah, I guess I do." I stated. I was so going to regret saying that later on.

He sighed. "I know how hard it is for you to admit this. So I guess I owe you some facts about myself."

I was all ears.

"I never liked you more than a friend until that day when you kissed me on the beach at Long Island," he told me. "Also, I hated you when we split the flock up that time. And I've never felt closer to you in my entire life than I do right now. I think I just might get inside you for once. You know, see your true colors."

Woah. This was a lot of information. "Fang, I didn't even know I liked you until I kissed you on the beach. But I've never hated you, and I've always felt like you were a locked trunk that I would never find the key to, until recently when you started opening up."

I turned around to see the rest of the flock nearby, then stood up and flew to a sturdy tree branch about 20 yards away. Fang followed me there.

"I'm tired of this being such a mystery. I want to be straightforward from here on," I said to him as he sat down on the branch and folded in his dark wings.

Fang leaned in towards me, but not to kiss. He looked into my eyes, and I looked into his. "Max, I don' want you to be stressed out any more. We can go anywhere we want. We have the freedom that the rest of the ordinary world dreams of. We can do anything we want."

He was certainly right. We were free. For all we knew, all this "saving the world" stuff could be a hoax to keep us from loosing contact with the real world.

I slid towards Fang tentatively, and he saw the unsure look in my eyes. He came towards me too, and our bodies met. He put his arm around my waist and I leaned on him, closing my eyes.

"I was so stupid before," I told him. "I always thought that if we did this, it would tear the Flock apart. Now I know the truth."

I know you all are waiting for an awesome kiss right? Well, read on and there just might be one.

I never knew that anything could feel so magical, so right. I was slowly realizing that, despite popular belief, I did not know everything. I was learning day-by-day, experience-by-experience.

And so I kissed him. Or maybe he kissed me. I really don't know, but we went at it for a while. We held each other as tight as we could without causing pain.

"Fang, promise me this: you'll never leave me to my own head," I said.

"Anything for you Maximum. Anything."

We later agreed that we would keep "this" a secret from everyone on planet earth, and I carved our initials into the tree with a pocketknife (I know, lame but whatever).

And I slept by the fire that night, with Fang at the other side keeping watch, his aura haunted me in my dreams.


End file.
